NAMED FOR THE day (New Year’s) that the low, rocky point that was discovered here by Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino in 1603, this wild and isolated public park is a wonderful antithesis to the over-developed coastlines you might be expecting on a visit to California.

An hour’s drive south of the Golden Gate Bridge, Ano Nuevo State Natural Reserve is the site of the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for northern elephant seals. These large, doughy mammals, which congregate en masse to mate on these beaches from December to March, look like piles of cartoon sausage links basking in the sun. For a more scientific interpretation of their behaviour and habitat, visitors can spend time chatting with the interpretive guides that have been observing these elephant seals—as well as other maritime life, include sea lions—for the last two decades.

The parkland was used as farmland in the past, but has been mostly reclaimed by indigenous vegetation, now threaded by a network of hiking trails. Keep your eyes peeled for the endangered garter snake with red and blue stripes—this is one of the few places in the state where you can still find them.